Final Project Update

For my project, I have watched three movies. I have watched Slumdog Millionaire, The Bicycle Thief, and Ballet Shoes. I have started the reviews for the movies and have created the blog. I am going to use a PowerPoint and show my blog for my presentation. My blog address is http://www.moviesaboutpoverty.blogspot.com/.

I liked the story of the women not wanting to change the colors. They wanted to leave the colors red. “Won’t we be celebrating in the power of the Holy Spirit next Sunday, too? They left the color red for Trinity Sunday. When they laid the new rug, it was red. “But at least our Pentecostal red rug was laid down the center aisle in testimony to the spirit that runs through us.” I love that they saw that they were worshipping in the presence of God every Sunday. I do not usually think about that, even though I know it is true, it doesn’t come into my head. I will think about that more often now. I also like that they liked to have the color to brighten things up. The color was also helped to remind them that they were worshipping in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I really liked two stories from Neumark. I liked the story of Ernestina and Enid who walked in the walk-a-thon. Ernestina was 85 and had a pacemaker. She did not get into the van until after the fourth mile when some of the other older women got into the van. Enid had a bullet lodged in her foot from a drive-by shooting. Enid also spent her Saturdays for several months walking around the community with voter-registration forms. These two women did not care that it would be hard to walk in the walk-a-thon, they wanted to help. They did not use excuses to get out of helping, they stayed and helped. Some people would have used a lot less than what these ladies had as an excuse to get out of something, but these ladies pushed through any way.
I also liked the story she told about Danielle. Danielle’s mother died from an asthma attack brought on by smoking crack. She has eleven brothers and sisters. Some of her siblings are older and living on their own and others went to live with other relatives. She and four of her siblings were left parentless and an uncle moved in. There was a swimming trip planned for the church, but Danielle didn’t own a bathing suit, so Heidi Neumark took her to get one. They stopped at McDonald’s for lunch and Danielle got extra napkins and divided the bag of fries into five little piles. When Neumark asked her what she was doing she replied, “My sisters and brothers will feel sad that I got french fries and they didn’t. I’m taking them home to share.” Danielle did not keep the fries for herself; she shared them with her brothers and sisters, even if that meant she did not get as many french fries. She is a great example for everyone. She cared about siblings and so she shared with them. We should care enough about everyone around us who needs to be able to share with them, even if we get less than what we could have had.

In Second Isaiah, on page 189, I love the quote that says, "God's thoughts are higher than human thoughts." I think if I thought about that more often I would not worry as much about things and I would be more patient with God's plan. Everyone needs to realize that God's thoughts are higher. We do not always know what God is thinking and what He is thinking is always better than what we are thinking. So, we do not have to worry about the plans for our life because God's thoughts, God's plans are better than our own.

I really like things that Heschel said aboout justice. He says,"Justice is as much a necessity as breathing is, and a constant occupation." We need to have justice in everything we do and all the time. It is not just a good thing, it is a necessity. I also liked the quote, "yet the concern for justice is an act of love."

Final Project Update

I am going to watch movies that focus on poverty. I have a list of movies already and have narrowed them down to 12. I have already seen Slumdog Millionaire. I still have 11 movies to watch. I am going to blog about each movie and I need to start on that blog. The twelve movies that I am going to watch are:
Slumdog Millionaire, Pretty Woman, Hoop Dreams, The Pursuit of Happiness, The Color Purple, On The Waterfront, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, The Bicycle Thief, In America, Rent, The Grapes of Wrath, and Oliver Twist.
In case I watch a movie and feel that it does not deal enough with poverty I will also watch Of Mice and Men.
I am going to try to watch as many movies as possible with a minimum of 12.

I really loved a theme that kept coming up in the different pieces that Heschel never accommodated. He said that he is surprised to see the sunshine every morning and one of his students said that he loved trees everytime he saw them. He never got use to violence and war and that is why he was so against the Vietnam war. I think most people in our culture accommodate themselves to violence and war because it is on the news everyday and in the papers. Our media shows us violence so much that many people are no longer affected when they hear about war and violence. I love that Heschel neve accommodated himself to this. We need to spend more time realizing the beauty that is all around us by looking at things like we are seeing them for the first time and not accommodating ourselves to them. Looking at trees and the sunshine as precious and amazing everytime we see them. The world is beautiful, but a lot of people miss that because, unlike Heschel, they have accommodated themselves to it.
I also loved that Heschel emphasises that God hates to see suffereing. We should try to change the suffereing and hate to see it too. It is another thing that we should not accommodate to. Heschel also said that the opposite of good is not evil but indifference.

I liked the King readings. They showed how nonviolence really can win. I really like that he gave the three different types of love in the Greek language. More people need to understand these and more people need to love with agape love. Agape love "is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. And when you come to love on this level you begin to love men not because they are likeable, not because they do things that attract us, but because God loves then and here we love the person who does the evil deed while hating the deed that the person does." If everyone loved like agape love that would be great. Love we be more than just romantic and love between personal friendship. Eveyone could love each other.
I also like that he says, "I think every person who believes in nonviolent resistance believes somehow that the universe in some form is on the side of justice." If we faught for justice like God wants us too many more people could realize that the universe is on the side of justice because with God there is no need for violence to get to a good end.
I think that many people are too well adjusted to in life. Many people are adjusted to violence injustice, etc. We need to keep being maladjusted to injustice to change it. King said, "God grant that we will be so maladjusted that we will be able to go out and change our world and our civilization."
King wanted people to realize that nonviolent resistance is not a method of cowardice and that it does resist. It does not seek to humiliate or defeat the opponent but to win his friendship and understanding. If more people wanted this end instead of defeat of the opposing side the end result of resistance would be better and there would be more and more nonviolent resistance.
I think that many people need to realize what King says, "The end of violence or the aftermath of violence is bitterness. The aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation and the creation of a beloved community." If violence is used there usually is bitterness, there is not reconciliation with violence as there is with nonviolence. This was one of my favorite points that he made.